The stability of lip pattern characteristics over time.

This paper studied the lip prints of 85 subjects over a seven-month period. The patterns of the vermilion zone were shown to be stable with the passage of time. The number of matching features needed to prove concurrence between two prints was determined to be eight. Features of the lip print relative to the surrounding anatomy were also examined and found to be stable, recordable and to contribute to the usefulness of lip prints as a forensic tool.